Chapter 2 Flashcards
How many squadrons were fully equipped, manned and organized when the US declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917?
Only one, the 1st Aero Squadron
Traditionally, commissioned officers served as pilots before WWI. what types of auxiliary capacities did trained enlisted personnel fill?
Supply, construction, photo reconnaissance, radio, mechanics, armament specialists, welders, riggers, sail makers.
General HQ Air Force waited until WWII began before starting a massive expansion program T/F
False
Even though training centers expanded and multiplied from 1939 to 1941, what helped meet the demand for training?
Private Schools
What was the estimated ratio of support personnel to planes during WWII?
70 men to one plane.
What was top priority for assignment of women’s Army Auxiliary Corps during WWII
Serving at aircraft warning service stations.
What led to the integration of the Air Force?
On 11 May 1949, Air Force letter 35.3 mandated that black Airmen be screened for reassignment to formerly all-white units according to their qualifications.
Enola Gay dropped the first nuclear bomb on what Japanese city?
Hiroshima (6 August 1945)
Three days after Hiroshima, _______dropped the second nuclear bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.
Bockscar
The Soviet Union fought against Hitler with the Western allies. Why didn’t this alliance survive after the war?
Because of ideological differences between capitalist democracies and communism.
Who were the Big Three who met in 1945 to discuss the postwar division of Europe?
Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt
What did the meeting of the Big Three in 1945 lay the foundation for?
The UN
What was air power’s most decisive contribution to the Cold War?
The Berlin Airlift
Who led the 15 month Berlin airlift, bringing in more than 2.33 million tons of supplies on 277,569 flights?
Major General William H Tunner
Of all the enlisted functions, which was perhaps the most critical to the success of the Berlin airlift?
maintenance
The Soviets capitulated and dismantled the surface blockade of Berlin without a bomb being dropped. What did this victory lay the foundation for?
NATO
How did the Korean War begin?
With a surprise invasion of South Korea by North Korea on 25 June 1950
By 1950, where was most US ground and air strength located in the Pacific?
In Japan.
Name the NCO who shot down a North Korean YaK-3 the first such victory recorded during th war.
SSgt Nyle S. Mickley
What turned a stalled North Korean offensive into a disorganized retreat back to the north in September 1950?
US forces landed in South Korea and pursued the beaten army north of the 38th parallel.
Give three examples of missions performed by B-29’s that hadn’t been considered before the Korean War.
1) Interdiction; 2) battlefield support; 3) air superiority
On 9 November 1950 Cpl Harry Lavene scored the first B-29 victory over a jet by doing a________
Mig-15
Name the NCO who shot down two MiG’s on 12 Apr 1951, a feat unmatched by any other gunner
Sgt Billie Beach
In the 1950’s, US involvement in Vietnam began as what kind of operation?
A Cold War operation to contain Communism
What US President first authorized American intervention in Vietnam?
President Harry S Truman in 1950
What was the first sustained bombing campaign of the war against North Vietnam?
Rolling Thunder from 1965 to 1968
Name the SSgt of the 3d Security Police Squadron who earned a Silver Star for heroics while helping defend Bien Hoa Air Base in Vietnam during the North Vietnamese tet Offensive of 1968
SSgt William Piazza
American presidents wanted the Vietnam conflict to be fought and resolved by the Vietnamese with the US in an “________” role only
“Advisory”
American responsibility in the Vietnam conflict became primary for combat operations after what incident, followed by the Senate resolution in 1964?
The Gulf of Tonkin incident.
In 1969, President Nixon announced that ending US combat in Southeast Asia was a primary goal. What did he charge the SecDef with as a top priority?
The Vietnamization of the war.
In 1972, Communist forces crossed the Demilitarized Zone, taking advantage of reduced US ground presence. How did President Nixon respond?
He ordered the harbors mined. (peace talks broke down)
What air operation convinced the North Vietnamese to finally resume negotiations?
Operation Linebacker II –11 days of intensive bombing of Vietnamese cities by B-52s
How long after the first cease- fire were North and south Vietnam officially unified under a Communist regime?
After only three years
One of the first known uses of aircraft to render assistance was dropping food to ______flood victims in 1919.
Rio Grande.
What operations in 1956 and 1957 airlifted more than 10,000 Hungarian refugees to the US for asylum after Soviet forces crushed an anti communist uprising in Hungary?
Operations Safe Haven I and II
What month-long airlift delivered more than 1,000 tons of material to Chile in 1960 following earthquake, volcanic eruptions, avalanches and tidal waves?
The Amigos Airlift
What 1975 event triggered the largest aerial evacuation in history?
The fall of Cambodia and south Vietnam to communist forces
What 1991 humanitarian airlift provided blankets, tents and food to displaced Kurds in northern Iraq following the Persian Gulf War?
Operation provide comfort
What 1991 humanitarian airlift followed a typhoon in Bangladesh?
Operation Sea Angel
What humanitarian airlift in 1992 and 1993 provided food medicine and cargo to the republics of former Soviet Union?
Operation provide hope